Intel’s NUC 2.0 leaks, looks like a sweet little Steam Machine

Intel is busy brewing up the successor to the NUC, and the first upgraded units will be on sale next spring. The NUC 2.0 is a major upgrade, with 14nm Braswell Atom and fifth-generation Intel Core processors — and the all the makings of a solid Steam Machines.

Before you scoff at the idea of a NUC being a Steam Machine, pause for a moment. Intel’s integrated graphics have come a long, long way in the last couple years. And if you look at Steam’s hardware survey, you’ll see that it’s Intel — not Nvidia or AMD — who hold the top spot on GPU share chart. In fact, Intel holds the top three spots and four out of the top ten.

For a good chunk of PC gamers, then, Intel graphics are already sufficient, and these new NUCs will feature Intel’s Broadwell chips. They’ll arrive with a bigger, badder graphics core. Intel has said that performance gains should be in the area of 40 to 50 percent, and they’ll be able to drive three displays. 4K won’t be a problem either, so there’s every reason to think that NUC 2.0 will make for fine Steam hardware.

According to the leaked slides, Intel’s NUC 2.0 is also dumping mSATA connectors. The new models will instead feature the much more flexible M.2 socket. In case you’re not familiar with M.2, the socket supports four PCI express lanes and SATA on the same connector. That means one socket type for internal storage and a variety of add-on modules, like combination Wi-Fi/Bluetooth adapters.

All the new models will be equipped with four USB 3.0 ports and select NUC SKUs will also ship with a TOSLINK connector for precise digital audio output — which is always welcome on a system that’s begging to be the backbone of your home theater.

One fun touch Intel has planned for the NUC 2.0 is user-replaceable tops. You’ll be able to snap out the cover and snap in one of a different color or possibly even one that features integrated wireless charging or NFC hardware.